Grandma

2 Tim 1:5
When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother …. (KJV)

I got the word yesterday morning (which was a Sunday) that my grandmother had a stroke and was in the hospital. Anita and I planned a trip to Hood River, Oregon to see her this morning but by the time we got there Grandma had experienced a seizure and was sliding downhill. We knew it was only a matter of hours before she passes so the only thing left to do is make her as comfortable as we can until she is gone.

When I call to remembrance my Grandma
I remember joy.
Grandma always seemed to be happy. She was an early riser and liked to watch the morning skies as the sun rose over her Columbia River home. Grandma had a joy in her voice and an energy in her life that, as far as I was ever able to see, just never left her.

I remember love.
Grandma was the example of love and care for her family. Her whole life was taken with giving care for her children. Even in her eighties, it looked like she would be there for her own kids until they were gone.

I remember perfume
When I kissed Grandma yesterday, she was wearing the scent of her perfume. Grandma was loved a beautiful view from her home, a well cared for yard and flower garden, a well kept house, and to keep herself beautiful.

I remember bubble bread
It means nothing to most, but there is something comfortable about passing down a sweet recipe.

I remember attending church with her
And I am glad I can expect to see her again soon in heaven.

(About 11:00pm March 20, I received the word that my grandmother has gone to be with the Lord. As best as a man can tell, Grandma was a believer. I long for the day when I will see her again in glory.)

Turn the Heart to the Lord

2 Corinthians 3:13-16 KJV
And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
Israel was so stuck on the Old Testament (and their false interpretations of it) that they could not see the truths that were in the Old Testament nor could they recognize that Jesus is the Messiah they claimed to look for.

Before a person turns their heart to the Lord Jesus Christ there is a veil between them and the truth. They may hear the truth and even in some cases acknowledge it as true, but if the heart is not turned to Christ, they will not grasp the life-changing impact of the truth.

I noticed that it did not say that the person must turn to the Lord but that his heart must. I know people who claim to be believers, but their hearts are really set on the things of the world. Their love for the world becomes a filter between them and the Word of God so that they cannot get hold of how the God of the Bible could help them.

Our need today is to turn our hearts, our affections from this world and to the Lord. The more we do that the greater will be our ability to see the glory of the Lord.

For This End

2 Corinthians 2:9 KJV
For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.
I know the Apostle Paul wrote these words but this is one of those places in the Bible where it might become the most important that we can see that Paul was only a penman but the Holy Ghost is the Author of our Bible. So it is not Paul so much that wrote this to know the proof of them, but God.

This then becomes a lesson concerning why we have the Bible. The Bible proves whether we will be obedient to the Lord in all things. In this case, in the first epistle Paul instructed them to discipline a sinning brother. That is a tough thing to do.
He is likely a family member as well as a member of the church
His attendance at church is important and people will notice he is missing
Besides it is just unpleasant to be confrontational

However, they were instructed to discipline that member, and they had obeyed.

Now the instruction is to forgive him and comfort "...lest such an one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow." The assumption is that he has since repented and turned from his sin. And that sin, however grievous is now a thing of the past. So the thing to do is to put it in the past and move on.

It is important to remember than God is not here for our benefit, but we are here for His. God is not concerned so much that we understand everything He does. Nor is He burdened that we think things are fair. God's concern is that we be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. God is concerned that we be obedient in all things.

If we keep that in mind it will transform our lives for His glory.

To Spare You

2 Corinthians 1:15-24 KJV
And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit;
And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea.
When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay?
But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.
For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.
For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.
Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.
This is a longer portion that I usually use and the one verse I am using for the foundation of my meditations today is verse 23, "Moreover I call God to record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth."
In Paul's first letter he said he planned to visit them in connection with another visit through Macedonia. This visit had not materialized and the students of the Word of God believe that Paul's enemies had been taunting the believers and saying that Paul was not good for his word. Did he know the will of God or not and did he follow that will? Paul assures these people that he does know the mind of God and that he had good reason not to visit them yet. He avoided coming to them for their own good.

One of the difficulties in serving in the ministry is that there are those who misunderstand. They see the confidence the preacher demonstrates. They hear the messages that have to do with the authority and some of them are prone to look for mistakes and errors in the preacher's ministry, using those to accuse him of not being a real man of God, or else using them to excuse themselves from following his counsel in their lives.

No genuine man of God believes himself to be infallible. But a true man of God does live his life by the Word of God and with the best of intentions for the people God has placed in his care.

If only more people would see this and support their preacher rather than fall away or fall out to another church when he does things they don't understand.

Before the Lord

Proverbs 15:11 KJV
Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?

I see this as a contrast similar to
Rom 5:8-10
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. (KJV)

God is aware of everything that goes on in hell. No soul suffers there but that God does not know about it. No person enters there but that God is not aware of it. Because God loves sinners, no person endures the torments of hell but that God is not broken hearted about it.

But Proverbs goes on to say that much more the hearts of the children of men (are before the Lord). The contrast I think means that those who are not saved and who are not yet in hell are before the Lord. He views their hearts. He yearns for them to be saved. He places circumstances and events before them that are designed to draw them to the Saviour.

And I think it might imply that the hearts, the desires of the saved are always before the Lord. He sees their needs, He knows their hearts, He has in front of Him at all times their wishes.

And there is great comfort and encouragement in that. If God is concerned even for those in hell, whose lot is cast and whose decisions to reject Christ have eternally banned them from the presence of God, then how much more God must care for those of us who have trusted His Son for salvation and who now live anxious to walk with the Lord.

Always Abounding

1 Corinthians 15:58 KJV
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Always abounding in the work of the Lord - Always engaged in doing the will of God; in promoting his glory, and advancing his kingdom. The phrase means not only to be engaged in this, but to be engaged diligently, laboriously; excelling in this. The “work of the Lord” here means that which the Lord requires; all the appropriate duties of Christians. Paul exhorts them to practice every Christian virtue, and to do all that they could do to further the gospel among people.[1]

I take my thought from the idea of abounding in the work of the Lord. My mind immediately goes to that work which would be called full time service, because that is what I do. However, this is not the work that every Christian does and certainly this would not be the work that even most Christians do. So, since this passage is not written strictly to pastors and missionaries, it must refer to something other than that. What then is it that we are to abound in?

On a natural level
Adam was called to subdue the earth and care for it.

We still have the responsibility to use all our faculties to bring to light the glories of God.
We are to be stewards of the earth in such a way that our use of the earth's resources and those sciences God gives us wisdom to know, to honor and glorify the Lord.

On a personal level
I am to grow in grace and in the knowledge of my Lord and Saviour.

I read the Bible, I pray, I attend church services, I even minister to others for the purpose of growing and developing my relationship with Jesus Christ.

On a spiritual level
I should exhibit the fruit of the Spirit as outlined in Galatians 5 and Ephesians 5.

On an ecclesiastical levelI am to participate in the work of the great commission.
Through soul winning and outreach efforts
Through prayer and support of foreign missions
Through ongoing teaching ministries in my church
The fact that Paul said "your labor is not in vain in the Lord" impies that it may on the surface appear to be in vain.
Be stedfast
Be unmovable
Keep at and even increase in the work of the Lord because, even if it may sometimes look like it, it is not in vain in the Lord.

[1] E-Sword 7.7.7, Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible, Albert Barnes (1798-1870)

Want of Judgment

Proverbs 13:23 KJV
Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.

As much as a man may till and labor, and as much as he may produce, much of it is destroyed and cannot provide its designed benefit for want of judgment.

John Clarke said, "O, how much of the poverty of the poor arises from their own want of management! They have little or no economy, and no foresight. When they get any thing, they speedily spend it; and a feast and a famine make the chief varieties of their life.”[1]

And since we are all poor men and lack judgment in comparison to God, we are in constant want of God's wisdom. Even when we can see we have accomplished something for the Lord, how much more might we have done if we had only had
More of His wisdom
More of His direction
More of His guidance

There is no room in the Christian to decide he has arrived in the spiritual plane. We must constantly and always seek the wisdom and counsel of God. For only then will that we have tilled come to complete fruition.

[1] E-Sword 7.7.7, Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible, Adam Clarke, LL.D., F.S.A., (1715-1832)

Charity

1 Corinthians 13:7 KJV
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Among the qualities that come with charity is "...believeth all things, hopeth all things..." The charitably Christian is not cynical, not beaten down, not pessimistic. The charitable hopes not only in the promises of heaven but that God's will may be done on earth as it is in heaven.

He hopes for the salvation of those who seem most unlikely to be saved
He hopes that kings hearts will be turned
He hopes that more souls will be saved
He hopes that backslidden believers will be reclaimed
He hopes that governments might bow before the Lord
He hopes for revival

He reads the Word of God and believes that what God has done in the past, God may do again. And having this faith he prays for God’s blessings and serves with joy.

He does not live in the dark cloud of doom, seeing only that this world is growing worse and worse as we draw nearer to the day of Christ's return, but seeing also that God's hand is in it; that there is still much that the believer can do to bring men and women to Christ and to rescue the perishing at the last moment.

The charitable Christian will not hunker down in a bunker somewhere awaiting Christ's return, but he will venture out believing and hoping that God will bless and use him as he does.

The charitable Christian is not bowed down under the burden of his day. He has instead bowed before the Father and found grace and strength to square his shoulders for the work of God.

The charitable Christian "…believeth all things, hopeth all things..."

Consider the Work of God

Ecclesiastes 7:13 KJV
Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?
This is not, in my estimation, to be taken as a bitter statement, but rather as a statement of submission to the mind of God.

Some have accused God's plan for the ages as "crooked."
That Satan and sin entered the world
That God would not accept all forms of worship
That there is none other name under heaven whereby we must be saved
That there is a hell the lost go to
That man cannot redeem himself by his own good deeds

Much of mankind would like to "straighten" those things out. They consider them to be crooked. They, like Cain, believe they can justify their own fruits.

The wise man considers the work of God and rests in God's almighty plan. God is not crooked in the sense of being wrong. It is merely that His ways are different that our ways; and what is more, His ways are higher than our ways. Not only is it true that we cannot straighten that which He hath made crooked, we do not need to straighten it.

God's ways are right
God's ways are good
God's ways are perfect

Guest Devotion

Saturday was a crazy day around our place. Accordingly, I used as my devotional thought for the day a portion of a message Brother Lance Hohenstreet gave at our men's prayer breakfast that morning.

Matthew 9:35-38 KJV
And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
This devotion came from a very full day as a part of our missions conference. It is borrowed from the message Lance Hohenstreet preached this morning.

We need three things Jesus possessed in this text:

We need His SIGHT
"all the cities and villages..."No one was left out

We need His STIRRING
"He was moved...."

We need to be moved and stirred to action for the cause of others.

We need His SUPPLICATION
"pray ye therefore..."

Thank God for Jesus' prayer. May His prayer become our prayer.

Avoiding Offence

1 Corinthians 10:27-33 KJV
If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake.
But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof:
Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience?
For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks?
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

I think verse 32 means almost the opposite of what most people who read it think. Most people think this means that we ought not to offend others.
We ought not to take stands that another might be offended by
We ought not to preach a message that a listener would be offended at
We ought not to talk to people about death and hell lest we offend them
But the context says something opposite of that. The context is that we ought to be careful not to do something that would hamper them spiritually.

Paul said that there was nothing wrong with eating meat sold in the shambles - that is meat that had been slaughtered as part of a pagan ritual. Paul said
That the meat is just meat
That there are no gods in the idols anyway and
That we are at liberty to eat that meat

On the other hand, if the person who has served us the meat declares to us that in the eating of that meat we are offering it to idols, then don't eat the meat, "...for conscience sake..." But then he says not for our own conscience, but for the other. Now, the other may be offended that we refuse to eat the meat offered to the idol, but a bigger offense exists here; by eating I might avoid offending the man, but I will also be endorsing his idolatry. My desire to avoid hurting him would in fact harm him in a greater way, that is, spiritually.

We who are Christians ought to want to please all men in all things. We ought to seek their profit. But the profit we are to seek is for their spiritual well being and not that we have not offended them on some earthly level.

The World in their Heart

Ecclesiastes 3:11 KJV
He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

Clark writes concerning this, "...the meaning is, that God hath set before the minds of men, and in them, the whole world of creatures, the whole book of nature, in which they may see and read much of the wisdom power, and goodness of God in his works; and to some he gives an inclination and desire hereunto; but yet the subject before them is so copious, there is such a world of matter presented to them, and their capacity so small, and life so short, that they cannot all their days find out the works of God, either of creation or providence, to perfection; or find out what God works, from the beginning of the world to the end of it; for, of what he has wrought, but a small portion is known by them, and they know less still what shall be done hereafter..."

The word translated world can also mean eternity. God has placed within each of us the capacity to see Him and to know we are eternal beings just by observing the things that are in the world. We cannot attain to eternity just in the things we see and can learn from the world, but we can see our need to seek eternity from the things we see in the world.

I do not, as a witness for Jesus Christ, have to convince a man that there is an eternal destiny for each man. It is obvious. Our heart tells us it is so each time we look out at the world our God has created. But what a man cannot know, unless someone tells him, is what will be his end. That can only be passed from faith to faith. One man, having received faith from God, must go and pass that faith to another man.

My job is to show people Jesus. I do not have to show them;
God,
The devil,
Heaven or hell.They already know those are a reality because their heart tells them so. God hath "set [that] world in their heart." I only have to show them how to have an eternity in heaven and not hell.

God make me faithful in doing that.

Known or Knowing

1 Corinthians 8:2-3 KJV
And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
But if any man love God, the same is known of him.

My thought today is simply that it is not what you know that is as important as what is known about you. The greatest of educations
The brightest of minds
The most well rounded of life experiences
The best read of men
None of that matters much in comparison to what others know to be true of a man.

What others know about our character
What others know about our word
What others know about our commitments
These are the things that mark a man in this life.

But what marks a man for eternity is whether we are known for loving God.

So the highest aspiration I can attain to in my life is that of loving the Lord. Not that I must somehow make people see I love the Lord; only that I, in fact, love Him. For if I genuinely love God, "the same is know of him."

The Lord's Freeman

1 Corinthians 7:22-24 KJV
For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant.
Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.
There is a freedom in servanthood. A man may be bound to a master; in our day that would be a job. The finances may be so tight that there is little chance to have a day off, each payday brings just enough to keep the needs met until the next payday. There is little left for time away to look for a better paying job or to make many changes in one's position. But for the person who is a child of God, and who recognizes that God has a role for his life, even this is not bondage but opportunity;
Opportunity to shine for Jesus Christ among those who see their lot in life as hopeless.
Opportunity to witness and to win men and women to the Lord who would otherwise be destined to hopelessness in life and torments in hell when this life is over.

For the Christian, there is life and liberty and meaning even in the most menial of things on earth, because all that we do may be used of Christ to bring others to the saving knowledge. We can rest content in whatsoever state, then, because our hope is in Christ.

Such Were Some of You

1 Corinthians 6:11 KJV
And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
This passage sets us up to understand just how wonderful it is to be saved.

Verses 9-10 Reminds us that sinners cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
The list of sins that would exclude a person from heaven is broad enough that most of us would be guilty of something on the list or akin to it. I can sense a pounding heart from the first readers. They know this passage is meant to mean them

Verse 11 then says, "And such were some of you..."
So if any of us missed the point of verses 9 and 10, the first phrase of verse 11 hits us between the eyes. No mistaking it. Paul means us. We have all committed sins vile enough to exclude us from heaven.

But then comes the sweet release....
...But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus....
All of that sin, all of that wickedness, all of that which would keep us from heaven has been washed away in the name of the Lord and by the Spirit of our God! Wow! Amen! Praise God I have a home in heaven! God knows what I have done and God Himself has washed me clean of it.

Nothing Before the Time

1 Corinthians 4:5 KJV
Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
This passage may be more important in the spiritual life than we give it credit. We judge things too often. We judge things as unsuccessful because of what we see. We judge other things as successful also because of what we see. But if this passage is taken into consideration with chapter 3 those things that we might judge as the building of the Lord might just be the counsels of the heart of man rather than the leadership of the Lord.

In God's time He will make known what is genuinely service to Him. He will reveal those things that were built on man's ingenuity and wisdom rather than on dependence upon the Holy Spirit of God and He will praise those works that were simple stewardship to the Lord.

Defiling the Temple

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 KJV
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
Barnes Notes says concerning defiling the Temple, which is the church and not the body of the Christian, "The figurative sense is, “If any man by his doctrines or precepts shall pursue such a course as tends to destroy the church, God shall severely punish him."

The context speaks
Of those who have defiled the church through carnalityVs 3
That carnality being manifested in the form of

Envying

Strife and

Divisions

Of those who have defiled the church through man worship
Vs 4
One says "I am of Paul" and another "I am of Apollos."

Of those who have defiled the church by laying a different foundation than Jesus Christ.
Vs 10-11

This could take the form of false doctrines about Christ or building the church on teachings other than Christ's.

How to Have a Happy Home

How to be a Successful worker

How to be Run a Great Bus Program

All may have value, but they are not to be the means by which we build.

In fact, e are not supposed to build the church at all. Jesus said, "I will build my church." If we are acting as anything other than laborers of Jesus Christ we are treading on some pretty dangerous ground.

Of those who have defiled the church by building with man's wisdom rather than God's.Vs 18-20

As important as it is to keep the physical body pure, these verses do not speak about that physical body, but the spiritual one which is our church. How the Lord must hate it when we do something that jeopardizes His body; the church.

Trouble

Psalms 138:7 KJV
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
Gill said, "Trouble attends the best of men; both outward and inward trouble, from sin, Satan, and the world; yea, they are in the midst of it, surrounded with it; and it is a way in which they walk through this world, and enter the kingdom of heaven..."[1]

If only we would look to the Lord who revives us in the midst of our trouble instead of the trouble we are in the midst of! Life on this earth has its troubles. If we are not in the midst of one right now, we have either just gone out of it or we are just getting ready to enter into it. But it is through these troubles that God desires to revive us, protect us and save us. Without the troubles, we would never know the presence of God's right hand.

[1] E-Sword 7.7.7, John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible, Dr. John Gill (1690-1771)

Stronger than Men

1 Corinthians 1:25 KJV
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Barnes Notes says, "There is really no weakness in God, any more than there is folly. This must mean, therefore, the things of his appointment which appear weak and insufficient to accomplish the end. Such are these facts - that God should seek to save the world by Jesus of Nazareth, Who was supposed unable to save himself Mat_27:40-43; and that he should expect to save people by the gospel, by its being preached by people who were without learning, eloquence, wealth, fame, or power. The instruments were feeble; and people judged that this was owing to the weakness or lack of power in the God who appointed them."[1]

Men observe what God has planned and consider it foolish and weak. We devise ways to make His plan work better. It might be that God uses the foolishness of preaching, but we think we can improve the odds by making preaching more palatable. It might be that the instruments God uses are weak in that they are unlearned, but we think we can improve upon them by giving them the type of education this world would respect.

The best of our churches fall prey to the worldliness of turning God's plan into a skill. And we think we have evidence in the effectiveness of our devises in the growth of some of our ministries. The problem is, invariably it is the skill of the men involved that is glorified and not the God they claim to serve.

Heaven help us to return to simply trusting God for whatever results He chooses for us. Heaven help us to stop glorifying men and their plans and return to honest faith in Christ.

[1] E-Sword 7.7.7, Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible, Albert Barnes (1798-1870)

To God Only Wise

Romans 16:25-27 KJV
Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.

Just a simple thought today. Only God deserves glory. If we can simply remember this truth;
No man deserves glory, only God
No movement deserves glory, only God
No principle deserves glory, only God
No government deserves glory, only God

We are so easily driven to worship the creature rather than the creator. Sometimes in our zeal to do God service, we give the service itself the glory only God deserves. We can even find ourselves guilty of giving glory to those who are the best at giving God glory.

To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.

The House of the Lord

Psalms 122:1 KJV
I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.
This passage could address almost the whole church service experience:

I was glad when they said unto me...
This is the evangelistic outreach. This is the work Christians do before we get to church. It is the work of inviting others to come to church with us.

Jerusalem is builded...
This spoke to me of the organization of the services. We do things in order so we may receive the most good.

Our feet shall stand within thy gates...
This is our commitment to be faithful. We not only come to the house of the Lord, we stand there. There is no question in our hearts. We will be in the house of the Lord.

For there are set thrones of judgment...
This could speak of the Word of God. It is established; infallible and inerrant and it is preached in church.

Pray for....
Christians pray. We pray for souls to be saved. We pray for lives to be changed. We pray that God's Holy Spirit brings peace to the souls of those who come to Him.

For my brethren and companions; sakes...
This is the ministry of encouragement and exhortation we are to have one toward another in church

...I will seek thy good
That may be different for each person. For one man his good would be to get saved. For another it might be a warm handshake. For someone else it could be a warning about a certain sin. It could be to help them with their children, etc. It is our involvement in various ministries at church.

I am glad today is the day we will gather in the house of God

Precious and Pleasant Riches

Proverbs 24:3-4 KJV
Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:
And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

This passage reminded me of another Proverb;
Proverbs 10:22 KJV
The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

Everyone knows that riches, as in wealth, do not necessarily mean happiness, joy, and pleasantness. Many is the person who strove after the wealth of the world only to learn that in the obtaining of it they lost the very things that are precious and pleasant. No amount of material goods can take the place of
A marriage of love
A family united
A life of peace in the inner man
A hope of eternity in heaven

Too many have been fooled by the devil's line "eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die."

God's wisdom, the kind that comes from the Lord, leads a person to seek things more precious and more pleasant than this world can provide. When we have those things, then even the smallest of blessings in this world are counted riches.

Lord; Seek Me

Psalms 119:176 KJV
I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.

The Psalm begins with the words
Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. (Psalms 119:1 KJV)

This is a statement of fact. Those who are undefiled and who walk in the law of the Lord are truly blessed people. But the Psalmist ends with the reality that he, as have we all, had gone astray. I am reminded of Isaiah 53:6 KJV
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
So there is not a man alive who cannot claim Psalm 119: 176 as his life verse. We have gone astray. We are lost. The best of us and those of us who seek to know the Lord the most are still gone astray.

And the answer to our problem is found right here: we need God to seek us out.
We can't find our way back to Him
We can't solve our own problems
We can't cure our own infirmities
I want to seek the face of the Lord. I try to seek the face of the Lord. But I will find the face of the Lord, when He seeks me.

Apologies

Yesterday got pretty hectic for me. I had a time with the Lord in the early morning, but things began to happen before I could get my devotional thoughts posted.

I understand some of you read them regularly so I do apologize.

The Gates of Righteousness

Psalms 118:19 KJV
Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD:

There is some question about whether the gates of righteousness are speaking about the actual gates of the Temple or figurative of heavenly things. I take them to be figurative and I take this to be something that ought to be a regular plea for the child of God. There are three stages of righteousness I think I see:

God, You have already opened to me the gates of righteousness through salvation.
(At least this is true for me. Thank the Lord that His Holy Spirit opened my eyes and brought me to trust Christ alone for the salvation of my soul. Some will need to ask the Lord to open to them the gates of righteousness through Jesus Christ and save them from their sins.)

Lord, open to me the gates of righteous living.
Make me holy. Lord, enable me to live in such a way that I may please You.

Father, open to me the gates of heaven.Thy kingdom come and even so come quickly. I have had enough of the sin of this world. These temporal trappings are becoming too weighty for me. I long for the day when I shall shed these earthly garments and step through the gates into glory.

He is Their Help Too

Psalms 115:11 KJV
Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
The Old Testament is so Jewish-centered that it is sometimes thought that God hated the Gentile people and would be no help to them at all. The Jews, in fact, believed that the Gentiles were no better than dogs and that they, by virtue of being Jews, could only be blessed of God; and the Gentiles, by virtue of being Gentiles, could only be cursed by God. The fact of the matter is that God would have and did bless even Gentiles in those days that feared Him and put their trust in Him (as is evidenced by Rahab and Ruth).

This verse, along with the two previous, gives us plenty of reason to rest assured that God's promises in the Old Testament are as real to we who are not of Israel, as they were to any of the Jews of that day and ours.

Do we fear the Lord?
Do we understand that He is Sovereign of the world?
Do we sense the guilt of our sins and do we believe that there is an eternal condemnation for that sin?

Then trust in the Lord.
He is their help and their shield whosoever we may be who fear Him and trust in Him.

Thou Shalt Be Saved

Romans 10:9 KJV
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
The more often I read this verse in the context of the chapter, the more convinced I become of its importance to genuine salvation. Those who would add to salvation the work of baptism, the Lord's Supper, or any other good deed, miss the entire point of Romans chapter 10. Salvation is simply and completely by faith. It is coming to Christ alone and trusting in His death, burial and resurrection, sufficient because He is the Son of God. That and that only will save the soul from hell.

The context makes it undeniable that the subject is the salvation of the eternal soul. The argument of the chapter makes it abundantly clear;

That we may never establish our own righteousness as a means of salvation
Vs 3

That faith accepts that Christ came from heaven, died and rose again fro the dead
Vs 6-7

That salvation is completely by faith in Jesus Christ
Vs 9-13

That faith can only come through the preaching of the Word of God
Vs 14-17

I have very confidence in my salvation and I have every confidence in the salvation that I preach.

Oh that men would praise the Lord

Psalms 107:31 KJV
Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
When God says something once it is important. When God repeats it again it is even more important. When God says it with emphasis, it becomes urgent that we, who are the children of the Lord, pay close attention.

Not once, not even twice, but four times in this Psalm God's words says, "Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" The phrase, "Oh the men" just adds to the emphasis almost pleading with men to praise the Lord.

We will come to church this Sunday morning,
To exhort believers in the Lord
To invite the lost to accept the Lord but mostly
To give praise to the Lord.

Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Nevertheless

Psalms 106:44 KJV
Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry:
This is just about as hopeful of a verse as I think I can find in all of the Bible. There are about 38 verses that rehearse the sins, trespasses, iniquities, and transgressions of Israel. Verse after verse repeats the history of Israel's rebellion against the Living God.

They forgot God's works
They ignored His counsel
They envied God's leaders
They worshiped images instead of the Lord
They despised the land God gave them
They murmured and complained
They married pagan peoples
They sacrificed their children to devils
They shed innocent blood
Nevertheless He [God] regarded their affliction, when He heard their cry.

We should certainly ask God for the grace and wisdom to avoid their sins, but when we do sin, what a blessing to know that God will hear our cry and regard our affliction.

Do we really fear?

Psalms 103:11 KJV
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

Psalms 103:13 KJV
Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.

Psalms 103:17 KJV
But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
The Bible is very specific that there are great spiritual benefits to fearing the Lord. My question is if any of us really fear His as we ought these days.

Can you imagine, for instance, the fear that must have been in the hearts and souls of those mean charged so many years ago to translate the Word of God into the English language? O! Wait! Men do that all the time today without much consequence at all. New versions, new translations, improvements upon their last translations are as frequent as a new author writes a novel.

Or the weight upon the shoulders of the Reformers as they realized they must leave their traditional Catholic church and still worship the Lord. Though they were in error in several areas, and they would have been better to have united with the Baptists who never did protest out of Catholicism because they never were in Catholicism, still they understood the impact of their decisions and made them fearfully. No so today with people quitting the church of their fathers and starting brand new denominations or switching the church they will raise their family with as little thought as one would change supermarkets.

Our God says that
There is mercy
There is pity and
There is righteousnessAwaiting the one who will fear the Lord.

The Christian and Death

Romans 6:11 KJV
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Christian has no fascination with death, but he does have victory over it. No enemy can be defeated without confronting it squarely. Christ confronted death for us and, through Him; the Christian has such victory that death is no longer a fear for him.

We are:
Dead to sin
Vs 2

Sin no longer had the dominion it once had in the life of the Christian. It does not interest us as it once did. It no longer is our desire in life. Not that we don't sin, but that it is no longer a driving desire for us. We have larger interests, better interests.

Dead with Christ
Vs 8

Our relationship with Christ is such that God views us as having already paid our wages for sin. (Vs 23) When Christ died on the cross it was as if we died with Him.

Dead indeed unto sin
Vs 11

If verse 2 speaks of God's view of us once we are in Christ then verse 11 speaks of our view of ourselves.
One is positional, God sees us as dead to sin, the
Other is practical; we must view ourselves as dead indeed to sin
To gain the victory over sin that God has awarded us, we must first reckon ourselves dead (to sin) and then alive again (unto God). We must see our baptism as more than a mere picture of salvation but as an actual resurrection. The body that was a servant of sin died and was buried with Christ. The body that arose from the water is a new man, alive and a servant, not of sin, but of the Lord.

The Free Gift

Romans 5:18 KJV
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
The phrase, "the free gift" was added for clarity by the translators of the King James and is therefore italicized in the Bible. I find those phrases often not only added clarity but help to give emphasis to great truths in the Word of God. I could not help but focus on that free gift in this morning's devotions.

Usually, when we think of the free gift, I think our minds settle in on the word, "salvation." And no wonder. What a blessing to know we are saved! But then I also think we tend to lump all of the benefits of salvation into that one word and miss out on some of the fuller, but more subtle truths involved in our salvation. With this free gift comes:

Peace with God
Vs 1
We have been reconciled to God. The enmity which began with the sin of Adam and Eve has been settled through Christ.

Salvation from wrath
Vs 9
One day this world will face the fiery judgment of God. Those who have trusted Christ have been saved from that and hidden in Jesus.

Atonement
Vs 11
The word can mean "an exchange." God exchanged our sin for Christ's righteousness.

The gift of grace
Vs 15
Grace is what saved us. But once we are saved God gives grace for life as well.

Justification
Vs 16
"Just as if I had never sinned." Because of Jesus Christ, God has judged me innocent.

Righteousness
Vs 17
When God looks at me, all He can see is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. I have not only been set free, God no longer remembers my sins.

Eternal Life
Vs 21
Perpetual life, in the presence of God

And even this list only scratches the surface of all that salvation is.

Him that Justifieth the Ungodly

Romans 4:5 KJV
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Of all the descriptions of God in the Bible this must be among the most precious to us. God is, "Him that justifieth the ungodly."

The word means “to regard as innocent." Through faith in Jesus Christ, God regards the ungodly (that's me and you) as innocent.

I also notice from the context that God will not regard the same for those who attempt to be justified through their own good works. Pastor Steve House told us last night (at our Valentine's Banquet) that doing that is like the leper offering his infected clothing to Christ as a gift. They are filthy rags and an abomination to Him.

No, Christianity in its purest sense involves giving no gifts to Christ but rather accepting gifts from Christ. Even our service to the Lord is no real service but simply allowing the gift of God to work in us. It is not a work at all but a surrender.

Let God Be True

Romans 3:3 KJV
For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?

This passage is, of course, speaking about the Jews. Since the Jews were God's chosen people, and since Jesus came first to the Jews, could it be that since they did not as a whole receive Christ as Saviour that the doctrine of Christ as Saviour is errant?

Paul's answer is resolute; …let God be true and every man a liar….

In our day the doctrines we preach and live for seem to be growing less and less accepted. Men and women buy into almost anything religiously, except the kind of faith that we who are fundamental Baptists cling too. Yea, even among the fundamental Baptists there seems to be a swing toward more modern views of worldliness. The power of Christ to save has been substituted for a businessman's approach to performing the work of God.

Does this mean we should cave in and accept the inevitable?
Do we join in with the throngs who want religion but want to have it in man's power?
Do we substitute submission to Christ for apparent success in numbers?
God forbid: yea, Let God be true and every man a liar....

Our Hope and Expectation

Psalms 86:9 KJV
All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.

The great hope of the Christian is this truth; God will bring things to pass so that all nations will worship Him and glorify His name. He has also said that the way those who come will come to believe is through the preaching of the gospel

Romans 10:14-15 KJV
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

So the hope of the Christian is that one day men of all kindreds and tongues and tribes will worship the Saviour. And the great expectation of the Christian is that we may be used as instruments to bring that to pass. We never go out with the Gospel but that there is this hope, this faith in the power of our God to save sinners and bring them to Himself.

I will be away

Apologies. I will be away preaching at a retreat for about a week. I plan to get back to posting devotions on Sunday or Monday.

Lord Bless

I will fill it

Psalms 81:10 KJV
I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

Just last night I read a commentary that said, "When God desires a special satisfaction, He seeks out a prayer to answer."

One of God's greatest delights is to answer the prayers of His people. That means it behooves Christians not only to pray but to learn from the Bible those prayers that God delights most to answer. It is obvious as we read the Scriptures that there are things that can make our prayers null in the sight of God. It is also obvious that there are certain prayers that God is most inclined to answer.

We fail in our prayer life by first of all not understanding the differences in those prayers God answers freely and those prayers that are asked amiss and secondly by not praying.

Turn us again

Psalms 80:3 KJV
Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

Psalms 80:7 KJV
Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

Psalms 80:19 KJV
Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

Spurgeon wrote, "...It is not so much said, “turn our captivity” but turn “us.” All will come right if we are right. The best turn is not that of circumstances but of character. When the Lord turns his people he will soon turn their condition..."[1]

Three times in this Psalm the writer implores God to "turn us again."

One of the great needs today is for God to turn His people back to Himself. We need revival; not so much so that the lost will come to Christ, although that is always a great need, we need a revival so God's people will turn. The Hebrew word has the idea of returning to the starting point. And we have gotten so far away from that, I fear that, unless God grants us a revival there is no way we can ever get back.

What we need today is a fresh breath from Almighty God. What we need today is not another program, not another great meeting. There is nothing wrong with either, but it is not the same as God shining His face upon us.

If the Psalmist could say it three times, I can at least pray it once more, "Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved."

[1] E-Sword 7.7.7, The Treasury of David, by Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)

The Way Out of Sorrow

Psalms 77:10-12 KJV
And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.
I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.
I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.

There is little doubt but that Psalms 77:2-9 describes a grieving, troubled man. The Psalmist knew the depths of sorrow as well as anyone. In verse 10 he says "This is my infirmity..." This is something he faces regularly. He fought bouts of questions. Read through the Psalms and we can see this many times over. Yet he also has a remedy which is given repeatedly. He almost always writes of trouble that has come and that he has victory over when he writes.

The remedy comes in six statements;
I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High
He began by remembering years of God's right hand. This is likely referring to days when God's right hand was obvious. Those days in years passed when it was apparent that God was at work in his life.

I will remember the works of the Lord
This could refer not only to what God has done but to what God is responsible for. There are works that God expects us to do and there are some works that only God can do. there are works that God has committed himself to; such as salvation. We cannot do that and God has promised to do it. By remembering what is our responsibility versus what is God's responsibility we gain balance in our thoughts and actions.

I will remember thy wonders of old
Both those things God has done in the past such as are recorded in the Bible and are recorded in Christian history and, and perhaps more importantly, those wonders He has accomplished for us personally.

I will meditate also of all thy work
The word remember means to mark. The word meditate means to ponder. In the one case, we recognize the fact, in the other case we work its implications over in our minds

[I will] talk of thy doings
Once the Psalmist had marked and meditated upon the works and wonders of God, he said the final step was to talk about them.
To other believers as both an accountability and a means of confirming and refining the truths brought out in meditation
To those who are also sorrowing and a means to encourage them and lift them
To the lost in an effort to bring them to a saving faith in Almighty

Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary
That is the house of God. Believers must not abandon faithful attendance to the house of God, even in those times of deep sorrow. God's way is given there. The answers we seek will be found in the sanctuary of the Lord.

God uses sorrow in our lives in positive ways so we must not expect to be delivered from it. However, there is a way out of deep sorrow. We do not have to live in the depths of despair but we can use the prescription of Psalms 77 to lift us from sorrow to service in God's house.

They Should

Act 26:20
But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

The three-fold message of the Christian, the three-fold responsibility of the soul:
Repent:

It means to reconsider. The idea is that of changing your mind. Especially is this true concerning our original relationship with God. All men, both Jews, and Gentiles, both Christians and non-Christians, who are out of fellowship with God should repent, should reconsider.

Turn to God:

It means to convert or to revert. The lost sinner, upon repentance, should convert and be saved, the Christian backslider upon repentance should revert back to what they know to be Bible truth.

Do works meet for repentance:

We do not become Christians through our good works, but the Christian should hold himself responsible to do good works - works that demonstrate he has repented; works that lead others to the same repentance.

Affirming His Life

Acts 25:19
But had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.

We will gather today in the house of God to do exactly the same thing that the Apostle Paul did so many years ago.

We will gather together to affirm that Christ is alive.

We will affirm He is alive by our attendance in worship
We will affirm His is alive by the change He has made in our lives and
We will affirm He is alive by our testimony and our words of teaching and exhortation one to another.
Even though Jesus Christ died, we know Christ is alive today because
There were many were eyewitnesses of his resurrection
There is evidence of His living in the impact He continues to make in people's lives
There is a "witness" in our hearts that convinces us that He is alive.

My Habitation

Psalms 71:3 KJV
Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.

What a descriptive way to speak of God;
As a strong habitation
As a resort and
As a fortress
David may have written this as he fled Jerusalem from Absalom's rebellion. He has lost his reign, He has lost his city and He has lost his house, but he has not lost his faith in Almighty God.

When a man's faith is in the Lord he has
A home and
A safe place, and
A place of rest and comfortWherever he is and whatever circumstances he might find himself in. He may find himself in a cave as David was, or in a shelter; but even there, God makes him at home in Christ. He may be facing an attack from an enemy but God provides him a refuge and safe place. He might be going through a time of emotional hurt, but God gives him a resort for comfort and rest.

Psalms 69:5-7 (KJV) Why We Suffer Reproach

Psalms 69:5-7 KJV
O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.
Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.
Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.
We may suffer reproach as believers for two reasons;
Because of our sin
For Christ's sake

The Psalmist is keenly aware that he is a sinner. He knows that God knows his sin and his great concern is that his sin not be a stumblingblock and a cause of shame and confusion for others. Especially when the believer is in a position of leadership as David was, he understands that his sins have the capacity to bring great spiritual as well as even physical harm to those in his kingdom. While I do not have the influence David had, my sin still has the potential to bring harm to others. The sensitive believer considers that.

But then there is another kind of reproach and shame a believer faces because of his stands for Christ. David suffered reproach and apparent failure in the wilderness as he ran from Saul. There were times when he could have in the flesh, slain Saul personally and ended his flight. David's men encouraged him to do it. But David chose to remain a fugitive rather than to lay a hand on the anointed. It meant years more suffering and shame. And he ran the risk of losing some of his followers who just did not understand his convictions.

Paul faced the same issue as a prisoner for Christ's sake.[1]

He gave Timothy this admonition
2 Tim 1:8
Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; (KJV)

And he made mention of another who was not ashamed
2 Tim 1:16
The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: (KJV)

In this case all we can do is take our stands for Christ and pray that those we lead and love will understand. Some will; some won't. But Christ will be glorified our obedience to Him regardless.

[1] Ephesians 4:1

He Giveth Strength and Power

Psalms 68:35 KJV
O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.

Words have sure changed their applications over the years. In the Old Testament the word wonderful has a negative connotation and the word terrible in our text today has a positive connotation.

What a promise it is that God gives strength and power unto His people. John Gill says, "...These are weak, and encompassed about with infirmities; he has strength in himself for them; he has promised it to them, and he gives it to them as a pure gift and unmerited favour of his...."[1]

It is a pure gift. We do not earn His strength and power. We do not deserve it. He gives it to us has His pure gift. The only condition is that we be His people.

Rom 9:25
As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. (KJV)

1 Pet 2:9
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: (KJV)

There is a people who were not God's people but who have been chosen and become God's people. And that it accomplished by received in faith, the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 1:12
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (KJV)

[1] E-Sword 7.7.7, John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible, Dr. John Gill (1690-1771)